Kantingding Fish Market lights up before dawn. Vendors take their positions by fish type; the fish and shrimp in the basins glisten under fluorescent lights. When the mullet season arrives in November, the stalls fill with those swollen, golden-yellow ovaries, a faint nutty fragrance mingling with the briny sea smell. Kantingding is one of northern Taiwan's key mullet landing ports. In season, buying directly at the fish market or tasting it freshly grilled here is the most direct way to experience this prized catch.
What is Mullet Roe
Mullet roe is the ovaries of mullet (also called grey mullet). After extraction, they are salt-cured, pressed into shape, and sun-dried in the wind. The finished product is a flattened oval, amber-colored, semi-transparent egg sac — dry on the outside with some elasticity remaining inside. The most common way to eat it is with an alcohol singe: a rice wine or sorghum liquor flame is passed over the surface to burn off the thin outer membrane before slicing, then eaten alongside thin slices of daikon radish or garlic sprouts. The flavor is rich and layered — the briny freshness of fish roe, the depth of curing, and a subtle oiliness.
Mullet migrates southward through the Taiwan Strait with the Kuroshio Current each winter. The Fisheries Agency of the Council of Agriculture officially lists the mullet season as November through January of the following year, peaking in mid-to-late December. As a major fish-unloading port in northern Taiwan, Keelung's Kantingding Fish Market can receive mullet directly during the season — some vendors extract the roe and process it on-site, and some shops offer a freshly grilled option. Unlike Tainan or Taichung, where mullet roe is sold primarily as a processed product, Kantingding during the season offers an experience closer to the raw-material end of the supply chain.
How to appreciate it like a local
Local knowledge
Objective credentials
- The Fisheries Agency of the Council of Agriculture officially lists the mullet season as November through January each year, with peak activity in mid-to-late December — this is a publicly available official document.
- Trading records from Kantingding Fish Market confirm that Keelung Harbor is a major mullet landing port in northern Taiwan, supported by official fishery statistics.
- Kantingding is a traditional wholesale fish market near Chongren Road, Renai District, Keelung City, with a history traceable to the Qing dynasty.
Visitor tips
- Visiting outside the season means you can only purchase dried, processed mullet roe — you cannot experience freshly processed roe on-site. Confirm your visit falls between November and January.
- Kantingding Fish Market is in Renai District, Keelung City, about a 10-minute walk from Keelung Train Station.
- The fish market is primarily wholesale-oriented. When buying retail, ask whether the stall accepts individual customers — not all vendors sell to the general public.
Sources: Fisheries Agency of the Council of Agriculture mullet season announcements; Kantingding Fish Market trading records. Photos pending Dio's on-site shoot for exclusive channel footage.